Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Wednesday Wanderings…Tea Time!
Oh my, I got myself sidetracked once again. Sigh. I really wanted this out earlier today, but things just didn’t work out. We got snow again. Nine inches altogether. Not so bad really. Except for me. Ended up hurting my back again. Seems to be kind of normal for me. My doctor said, ‘don’t shovel snow’. My physiotherapist said, ‘don’t shovel snow’. But, hey, we live in a land of cold and snow! What am I supposed to do? If I shovel snow, I hurt myself. If I don’t shovel snow, I slip and fall and hurt myself. Seems like a no win situation there. Sigh.
So It’s…
Time for tea! Raspberry leaf tea, to be exact. I like herbal tea. Almost as much as COFFEE! But not quite. Except after supper, then it’s definitely tea time. Like right now. A nice hot mug of raspberry leaf tea beside me. Ahhhh! Perfect. Next to COFFEE, a hot cup of tea is great on a cold winter day. Anyway, some of you wanted to know how I make this. Very simple really. I like simple. That way I can actually accomplish it.
First Of All…
You need to pick some raspberry leaves. If you can get wild ones even better, they do have even more flavor. But any will do. I pick them off my landlord’s raspberry plants. Yes, I do have permission. Best time to pick will vary a bit, depending on where you live, but generally I think July is best. The flavor is at it’s peak then. Make sure the leaves are nice and green and healthy looking.
Next…
Comes the drying part. Very important. Put a layer on a baking sheet, not too many, and put in the oven set at 150F, or up to 200F but no higher. This will dry them slowly enough to retain good flavor. Check on them about every 10 minutes, ‘fluff’ them up a bit and back in the oven. Make sure they are dry enough to crumble nicely, they must be DRY.
Then…
Let them cool completely. After that store them in an air tight container, such as glass or metal. I suppose plastic could be used. But I hate plastic for storing stuff, unless it’s not food. That’s just me.
I use an old apothecary jar from a local area pharmacy of days gone by.
Best Part Now…
Making a cup of tea. I use a stainless steel tea ball.
Fill half full for a cup, not loosely, stuff those leaves in there! Use boiling water. BOILING water. Not hot. Boiling. And pour it in the cup, not on your foot. It hurts when you pour it on your foot. Trust me on that one. Sigh. I think Muffin will have something to say about that soon.
Time To…
Say good bye for today, enjoy the rest of your week and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
© 2019 Steve McLeod
Steve`s Country 
Your tea sounds wonderful….hope your foot is ok.😂
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Did you see the coffee post on Guan views?
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Hmm, how did I miss that? Will have to check it out in the morning.
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Tell me how things are looking when you have time in the morning
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Shall do!😊
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I guess herbal tea is okay…but not for me…altho’ your raspberry tea sounds pretty good !
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“What am I supposed to do? If I shovel snow, I hurt myself. If I don’t shovel snow, I slip and fall and hurt myself. Seems like a no win situation there. Sigh.”
Catch-22 kinda problem.
I think I need to try that one out. I love nature than I do science. Like a prefer herbal medicines over synthetic ones, etc.
Very good and informative article. Thanks!
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I love your tea-making process! I’ve never been a huge fan of tea, shocker since I’m a Southern girl, but I’ve never tried raspberry tea. I might actually like that! Hopefully you can rest your back once all the snow melts! 😀
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I’m not a big tea drinker either really, unless it’s something I can make myself, make’s it a lot more fun. Right now it just keeps on snowing, plus now it is cold and very windy! And I had to spend most of my day in bed after hurting my back shoveling again this morning. Seems I never learn!
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Your raspberry tea sounds lovely, Steve. Thanks for sharing your ‘how to’ – that method probably works for lavender, too? I also like rose & lavender teas. Blessings & stay warm! 💨☕️🤗☕️💨
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Hi Virginia, yes, I am sure it would work for lavender as well. I have done the same thing with blueberry, mint and strawberry. Main thing is to make sure it is dry and once in an air tight container will last at least 2 years. I found out because one year I made an extra large batch using wild raspberry leaves. Would love to get wild ones again!😊 Have a great day!
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